The Yoke eBook

“Fear ye not; stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. For the Egyptians ye have seen
this day, ye shall see again no more for ever.”

At the words, Kenkenes lifted his head quickly.
The Hebrew had answered his question, but how enigmatically!
Was Israel to escape, or Har-hat to be destroyed?
In either case, the young man wondered concerning
himself. Again the eyes of the Lawgiver returned
to him, as if the sight of the young Egyptian was
grateful to him.

Kenkenes’ face wore a startled expression; how
had the Israelite divined his purpose? “Saith
not thy faith?” Faith? He confessed faith,
but faith had not spoken that thing to him. Slowly
and little by little it began to manifest itself to
him, that he had wavered in his trust; that the purpose
of his visit to Israel had questioned the fidelity
of his God’s care; that so surely had he doubted,
he had defied danger and fought with death to ask
after the intent of the Lord; that he had meant to
perform the duty which the Lord had left undone.
The realization came with a rush of shame. In
the asking he had betrayed his wavering, and Moses
had tactfully told him of it. A surge of color
swept over his face.

“Thou hast recalled my trust to me, my Prince,”
he said in a lowered tone. “Till now,
I knew not that it had failed me. But remember
thou, it was my love for Israel—­O, and
my love for mine own—­that made me fear.
Forgive me, I pray thee.”

The Lawgiver laid his hand on the young man’s
shoulder but did not answer at once. The growing
clamor about them had reached the acme of insistence.
The nearest people pressed through the tribal lines
and, rushing forward, began to throw themselves on
their knees, tumbling in circles about the majestic
Hebrew. Others kept their feet, and with arms
and clenched hands above their heads, shouted vehemently.
Their cries were partly in Egyptian, partly in their
own tongue, but the cause of their terror and the
burden of their supplications were the same.
The Egyptians were upon them! Even the dumb
beasts were swept into the panic and the illuminated
beach shook with sound.

After a little sad contemplation of the clamoring
horde about him, the Lawgiver drew nearer to Kenkenes
and said in his ear, because the tumult drowned his
voice:

“The Lord will fight for thee; thine enemy can
not flee His strong hand. Wait upon Him and
behold His triumph.”

Kenkenes bowed his head in acquiescence.

CHAPTER XLV

THROUGH THE RED SEA

The voices of the storm found harmonious tones of
different pitch and swelled in glorious accord from
the faintest breath of melody to an almighty blast
that stunned the senses with stupendous harmony.
Then the chord seemed to melt and lose itself in
the wild dissonances of the hurricane.